No Such Thing
by Blitz Babe
Summary: A songfic to 'No Such Thing' by John Mayer. Basically, it's about Seifer. Parts of it match up to parts in the game, while others are before or after. Please read and review, what could it hurt?


Hi everyone! Well, when I heard this song, the first the I realised was how great it was. The second thing was that it fits Seifer better than that oh-so-lovely grey coat of his! ^.^  
  
  
  
"Welcome to the real world", she said to me  
  
Condescendingly  
  
Take a seat  
  
Take your life  
  
Plot it out in black and white  
  
Seifer glared up at the woman who was now his instructor, and not a year before had been his classmate. A delicate, perfect frown graced her lips as she stared at Seifer in disapproval. He had been caught fighting with Squall during lunch for the second time that week, and Quistis was getting tired of it. She had her hands placed on her slender hips. "Well, Mr. Almasy, anything to say for yourself this time?" Quistis asked, arching a eyebrow at him. Seifer shrugged.  
  
"He had it coming." He said simply, leaning back in his seat. The instructor's frown deepened.  
  
"Seifer, you can't keep behaving like this. You have to learn to settle down, take your life seriously, stop ruining it with these impulsive acts. You could be a great SeeD if you had the discipline!" She scolded haughtily. Seifer smirked.  
  
"Ah, my dear Instructor, you will never understand me."  
  
Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings  
  
And the drama queens  
  
I'd like to think the best of me  
  
Is still hiding  
  
Up my sleeve  
  
"Some day I'll tell you about my ROMANTIC dream!" Seifer called up to his rival, right before he dashed for the Communications Tower, not even bothering to notice the petite brunette who had materialise beside Squall and Zell. And with that he dashed forward, daring any monster to challenge him. Let them come. He hadn't felt the thrill of a challenge for so long, his skills ached to be used, to draw the power hidden inside him. His romantic dream. To be a Sorceress' Knight. Suddenly an Anacondour lunged at him from seemingly nowhere. Any other student may have been too frightened to think, but Seifer deftly jumped aside, barely missing a poisonous strike. "Blind!" He cried, casting the spell on the beast. It roared as it's vision left it, thrashing wildly for him. 'Child's play.' Seifer thought. Let Chicken-wuss and Puberty Boy have their pathetic futures following the lines, becoming mindless members of SeeD. 'Once they see my potential here, they will be begging for me to join them. And then at least one of my dreams will be fulfilled.' Seifer thought, swinging his gunblade through the air, into the scaled flesh of his opponent. The best howled in pain, and the young student finished him off cleanly, a feral grin on his face. The thrill of battle, the power he could wield. Eager for bloodshed the student went off to find more fights.  
  
They love to tell you  
  
Stay inside the lines  
  
But something's better  
  
On the other side  
  
He stood proud and tall at Edea's side, gunblade held firmly in his grasp, his eyes taking in the crowd around them with all the joy and pride he could find. The power, the wonder, his dream was finally in his grasp. And to think he never would have reached it if he stayed with those pathetic fools in Garden. His life was much better now. He had a power they could never hope to wield! He was a Sorceress' Knight... So what was this nagging doubt in the back of his mind? Suddenly any thoughts were pushed aside as he realised something was horribly, horribly wrong...  
  
I wanna run through the halls of my high school  
  
I wanna scream at the  
  
Top of my lungs  
  
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world  
  
Just a lie you've got to rise above  
  
Seifer glared at his reflection in his blade. His world, his dream, it had all been a trick played by Ultimecia. He scowled at his own face looking back at him. How did this happen? He wanted things to be like they were back at Garden. He missed the DC, spending time with Fujin and Raijin, even fighting with Squall and annoying poor Quistis. Seifer was shattered now, his world had turned out to be a lie. But... Would he let it break him? His eyes narrowed as he thought of all the things he had done wrong in his life, the things that never worked out. But they weren't all there was to him. He wouldn't do what people expected, he would make sure of that, it wasn't in his nature to be predictable. He wouldn't let this break him. Looking up, he cast his gaze to the sky, clear and blue and perfect. 'I'll find Fujin and Raijin, I can be happy with those two. We're a posse.' He decided then, a weight lifting off of his mind. 'Then... I'll see where my life goes.'  
  
So the good boys and girls take the so called right track  
  
Faded white hats  
  
Grabbing credits  
  
Maybe transfers  
  
They read all the books but they can't find the answers  
  
Seifer stood outside of Garden, several years after Ultimitia's defeat and the drastic change to his world. He had made a life for himself, but, he always felt pulled back to this place. After the war Garden seemed to have lost it's purpose. It didn't hold the prestige and reputation it once had as a fine mercenary academy, the name 'SeeD' was fast becoming comfortable, as opposed to feared or respected. The man snorted, his gaze still fixed on Balamb Garden's once beautiful structure. It was falling into disrepair from lack of funds. No one wanted to hire SeeD. No one wanted to send their children their. And all the stiff, spoiled management-types had no clue why, because never before had a company actually eliminated itself from the game. There hadn't been a war for years thanks to the Gardens. But rather than keeping them running to keep it that way, people turned up their noses, wondering why the old structures were still around. It took someone who'd seen the darker side of humans to understand what was happening. No, people like the good Instructor wouldn't figure it out, with her nose buried in records as the accounting staff threw temper- tantrums and the hallways grew less and less crowded. The Garden's own idealism had destroyed them. Seifer sighed. Now, here he was, back to do what? Save them? They wouldn't even want his help, would they?  
  
"Seifer?" A familiar voice asked. And then the former knight remembered why he came, as he turned to see the only mother he had ever known.  
  
And all of our parents  
  
They're getting older  
  
I wonder if they've wished for anything better  
  
While in their memories  
  
Tiny tragedies  
  
  
  
"Matron!" Seifer said, hugging the older woman he hadn't seen for so long. His brow wrinkled in concern as he took in her appearance. She looked... Old. Worn. Something he had never seen in her before. Hadn't she always been strong and vibrant? His concern showed clearly, and she threw him a sad smile. A wave of sorrow washed over him. He wished that none of the horrors of the war had ever happened, that his presence would not have to bring back bad memories to her of what had been. He swallowed hard. "I-I should go, I shouldn't have come." He said softly, pulling away and turning to leave.  
  
"No, Seifer, it's not you that's making me sad. Don't go child. I'm glad to see you here, and I know the others will be." Matron told him, grabbing his arm lightly.  
  
"...Alright, I'll stay." Seifer agreed. "But why are you so sad?" He inquired seriously, not liking the pained look in her eyes one bit. This was the woman who had raised him, cared for him, who even knew what his pain had been during the darker times. Edea let out a deep sigh. An old person's sigh.  
  
"Many things have happened here, Seifer. The Garden's a wreck, the students have stopped coming, only a few people still pay us to do odd jobs... And... We tried to contact you, but your friends didn't know where you were..." She stopped, and a hazy fog of tears filled her eyes. Seifer felt a lump of dread rise up to his throat. Gently he nudged her, silently coaxing her into going on. "Seifer, Cid passed away a month ago."  
  
They love to tell you  
  
Stay inside the lines  
  
But something's better  
  
On the other side  
  
  
  
It was Edea more than Cid which made Seifer decide to stay and work at the Garden. Balamb and Galbadia were still running, but Trebia Garden was closed down, due to lack of funds to continue it's much-needed repairs after the war. Of course, he almost left again when he learned who had taken Cid's place as Headmaster. Seifer never would have thought the old coot would have chosen Squall, even though he was fond of the boy from early on. Quistis or Xu seemed like a much more logical choice. Of course Seifer still didn't do what Squall or anyone else told him to unless he felt like it. Some things would never change, and never should, for that matter. Life was just more interesting when you made your own rules for it. Seifer took over the more ruthless, business aspect of the Garden, though he would have liked to be ruthless with his weapon more than his tongue. But, then again, there were plenty of interesting ways of messing with people using words.  
  
"Dammit, Seifer, you can't just go around bullying our clients!" Squall yelled at him from over the top of his desk. The blonde knight shrugged, leaning back in his chair, feet up on the 'Headmaster's' desk. He yawned in a display of his boredom with the conversation.  
  
"Of course I can, Headmaster Puberty Boy, that's what I'm here for. You think anyone wants to hire mercenaries who are simpering wusses? Oh please. You know as well as I do that not a single client has turned us down since I began 'negotiating' for you." Seifer said, swishing his gunblade idly through the air. Squall's teeth clenched, and he balled a fist in anger.  
  
"True. But our reputation has gotten considerably darker." He argued. Seifer laughed.  
  
"What? You want us to be the nice hired killers? You don't remember anything from back when we started. Soldiers used to run screaming from us in the streets, crying out the name 'SeeD' in fear. Rinoa's been filling you up with a bit to much of her idealism. You're getting soft."  
  
I wanna run through the halls of my high school  
  
I wanna scream at the  
  
Top of my lungs  
  
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world  
  
Just a lie you got to rise above  
  
The downside to brutal negotiation tactics: Enemies. The attack on Balamb Garden from Dollet was sudden, unexpected, and completely devastating. Seifer skidded along the once-polished floors of the corridors as another explosion resounded off the side of the Garden, blasting a hole into one of the classrooms. Luckily the younger students, what few there were, had been removed long before. Seifer cursed. Why did these Dollet morons have to be such fucking idiots? They attacked Garden because Garden had been paid to stop their efforts against Esthar, whom they had been in disagreement with for quite some time, over the topic of Esthar sharing it's technology with the world or not. 'Idiots. They spent twice what it would cost them to just pay us to be on their side for the weapons to blow us up.' He thought bitterly as he sprang to his feet again. They were evacuating Garden, and he had been sent to make sure no one was left behind.  
  
"Commander!" A voice called. Seifer whirled his head around, looking for it's source. He found it. A lone upper class-man had been rocked off of the first-floor walkway in the last explosion, on his way to the elevator. He clung helplessly to the railing, eyes wide with fear. Seifer raced over as another blast hit the Garden again. One of the student's hands jarred loose. He let out a terrified yell as his fingers slipped off the railing, slick with sweat, and began to plunge towards the ground. Suddenly a firm hand wrapped around his wrist, as Seifer grabbed him from over the railing. "Help! I-I'm going to fall!" The student shouted. Seifer reached out his other hand.  
  
"No, you're not. Now give me your other hand." He ordered firmly. The frightened teenager nodded, and reached over, grasping the older man's arm tightly. With a heave Seifer pulled, slamming his boots up against the glass of the railing to help him, and hoping the glass didn't break. His gunblade slid loose from it's place at his side and hit the railing with a clang, just as he pulled the boy to safety. "Go, go!" He said, immediately pushing the student into the elevator. Then he leaned over to pull Hyperion off of the floor. It was at that moment another explosion erupted. Flying backwards, Seifer felt his body hit the already-weakened glass, and heard the dreaded sound of something shattering. The next thing he knew there was nothing beneath him but broken shards and thin, terrifying air.  
  
I am invincible  
  
As long as I'm alive  
  
Seifer opened his eyes groggily, feeling more than a little drugged, and staring into the white void of a fluffy pillow. A fluffy pillow which reeked with the stench of a hospital. He groaned, feeling the shooting pains all along his back, thankful that whoever treated him had been kind enough to lay him on his stomach. "Hey, I think he's awake!" A familiar voice said. Seifer groaned.  
  
"Chicken-wuss? Who else is here?" He asked, unable to twist himself out of his current position. At the moment all he could make out was a white wall and a white pillow. Suddenly an upside-down face was added to the equation, as Selphie leaned over to look at him, grinning like a little child.  
  
"Everybody is, silly! You're a big hero!" She said. Seifer was in no mood for her unending, though endearing, cheerfulness at the moment. He scowled and she stuck out a tongue at him. From somewhere out of sight Seifer heard Irvine laugh.  
  
"C'mon, Sephie, give him some room." The cowboy said. Selphie's face disappeared with a loud squeal, and Seifer was fairly sure Irvine had literally pulled her away.  
  
"Where are we? What happened?" He asked. There was a pause, and he imagined a herd of faces turning to look at the good Instructor, who was probably leaned up against some wall watching everything thoughtfully. His imaginings were pretty much confirmed when she began to speak.  
  
"We're in Galbadia Garden's Infirmary. You saved one of the upper class- men from falling off the railing, but somehow when another blast hit you punched through the glass on the balcony, and landed back-first on fifty- two pieces of glass, after dropping a full story. You sustained a concussion, several flesh wounds, as well as two broken legs. But you're lucky, since you should be dead. The student is fine though." She told him straight, no hesitation. Seifer was grateful for that, he hated when people beat around the bush about these things.  
  
"And Balamb Garden? Is it alright?" He asked. There was dead silence. When at last a voice spoke, it was not Quistis, but Squall.  
  
"The Garden has been demolished."  
  
I wanna run through the halls of my high school  
  
I wanna scream at the  
  
Top of my lungs  
  
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world  
  
Just a lie you've got to rise above  
  
It took a long time to raise the funds he needed to rebuild the Garden, but Seifer did it. Well, not JUST Seifer, of course. Fujin and Raijin came and helped. Rinoa's father leant a hand, and so did Laguna, though he did it discreetly as he didn't want to appear to be helping a mercenary faction. Especially with the world as distrustful of his mysterious city as it was. 'Then again,' Seifer thought. 'We DID get trashed BECAUSE of them.' But, he knew when to keep his mouth shut. Rebuilding Balamb Garden was all that mattered to him. aside from the orphanage, it was the only real home he had ever known. He owed it to Edea, and to himself, to see that the Gardens didn't fall. Selphie wound up organising a very impressive fund-raiser, which involved a certain 'auction' that attracted a lot of attention and earned the record for the most money raised out of all their ventures. Then again, Seifer did wind up spending an evening with a wealthy woman about twice his age who enjoyed brandy a bit more than anyone should. But when all was said and done, it was worth it. Anything was.  
  
I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion  
  
I'm gonna bust down the double doors  
  
And when I stand on these tables before you  
  
You will know what all this time was for  
  
"Headmaster? Esthar is on the line. They want to know if SeeD can send some soldiers to deal with an internal issue they've been having." The secretary's light voice said, as she peeked her head around the door. Seifer paused, before picking up his phone, deciding to take the call.  
  
"Hello President Puberty Boy. Need a hand, do we?" He taunted through the receiver. He heard an almost inaudible growl on the other end, and couldn't help but laugh. The two old rivals, now no longer so vicious towards each other, talked about matters for quite some time. When at last they reached a decision and hung up, Seifer found himself staring at his reflection in his gunblade. As he had done so long ago, when he made the decision to move on with his life. Time had been kind to him. A few lines here and there, a more distinguished air, and perhaps a brighter light of humour in his eyes. Seifer never would have even dreamed of getting this far in the old days. Being a SeeD, yes, but Headmaster? That was for pencil-pushers like Quisty and Cid, not warriors like him. And yet... It felt right to be here. The once-fallen knight let out a contented sigh. It was funny how the pieces of his life fit together, how he had finally realised what he had always been fighting for.  
  
Home.  
  
  
  
THE END! Well, hope ya liked it. Please review! 


End file.
